Bayer Leverkusen moved six points clear of fifth-placed Schalke 04 in the race for Champions League football thanks to a comfortable 4-0 win over Hamburger SV.

It was a dominant start from Leverkusen and they were rewarded with the opening goal in the seventh minute when Heiko Westermann's mistake allowed Karim Bellarabi to pick out Gonzalo Castro, who kept his composure to find the bottom corner.

Hamburg responded well to enjoy their share of possession for much of the first half, but the hosts continued to look dangerous in attack as the lively Bellarabi tested Rene Adler with a powerful strike from 25 yards.

Leverkusen were restricted to speculative efforts for long spells, despite the visitors struggling to provide much of a threat at the other end of the pitch.

However, a moment of quality allowed Leverkusen to find their second goal before the break as Castro delivered an inch-perfect cross to allow Stefan Kiessling to head home from close range.

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Leverkusen's dominance continued in the second half, and Kiessling was alert to help himself to a second after Adler had produced a reaction save to deny Castro.

Hamburg offered no signs of resistance as a comfortable afternoon continued for Roger Schmidt's side when Castro collected a clever through ball from Bellarabi before making it 4-0 with a low strike.

The chances kept on coming for the hosts, with Kyriakos Papadopoulos hitting the outside of the post after finding room to meet a corner with a firm header.

The home side dominated in the closing stages as they wrapped up the win to leave Hamburg occupying 16th place in the table.